February, Months after Ch. 80
Slowly Hunter's hand turned the metal doorknob and pushed in.
The room was empty, nothing left besides the specks of dust that had already begun to form since Hunter emptied his old bedroom.
Eighteen years he spent inside this room. Some of those years were the best of his life, yet some of them were the worst.
But still, Hunter couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness knowing this was going to be his last time inside of this room. Sure all of the things that made it special were now combined with Zekaj's stuff in Hell, but the room itself was being left behind.
The very spot he had fallen in love with Zekaj. Where they first made love, and where their bond had done most of its growing.
It was bittersweet.
Most of the house was completely empty, besides some boxes left behind for Hunter's mom to pick up after they were all gone. Jaxon just had to give her the a-okay and she would retrieve them.
Even after all of this time, Hunter hadn't seen his mother or his sister. He wasn't about to put himself back in that situation and they seemed well ok with now having control over this coven he once called home.
It was time for both sides to move on considering neither wanted contact with each other. While not being ideal to Jaxon, who wished he could make amends, he knew there was no use to keep pestering Olivia and Hannah.
With his own parents taking Olivia's side, Jaxon decided it was best to take Merlin up on his offer. Considering his son was most likely going to spend a lot of time in Wisconsin in the near future, it was the best place to settle down.
The road to fixing their relationship was a long one, though he wasn't fully worried about getting in Hunter's good graces again as they had been going to family therapy together for a while and it seemed to be working. It was Zekaj that he wasn't sure if he was ever going to please.
Hunter was just happy to have the Voidbornes as family now along with his father. Though Hunter also considered Merlin, Arthur, and Lancelot to be family as well as Volveth.
The minotaur was around enough and was definitely trying his best to work his magic on his father. It definitely had been hard easing himself into the fact that Volveth could become family in the future.
That and considering Volveth was not actually 18 in human years, but well into his 30's. Merlin had no clue why but considered it to be his soul being so attached to Jaxon it was aging him alongside Jaxon all of these years.
Jaxon and Volveth at that time would be on their day-long journey through the American northeast and midwest. Their final destination being Greyrith, Wisconsin, the current home to the portal to Camelot.
Hunter stepped up to his windowsill that usually had his desk sitting in front of. It overlooked his old front yard and Hunter rested his hands against the sill and peered out.
Zekai was pelting the minotaur with snowballs and Hunter couldn't help but laugh to himself. Jaxon was sitting on the steps with hot chocolate and Zekaj was nowhere in sight.
Concern filled his body on the whereabouts of his mate until he felt the sudden warmth and large muscular arms wrap around his waist.
Zekaj placed his head on Hunter's shoulder and kissed the crook of his neck.
"It's weird to see the house so empty," Zekaj murmured.
"It really is," Hunter said, watching Zekai launch a snowball at Volveth and hitting him square in the face.
"No headshots!" Hunter heard his father yell outside.
"How are you holding up?" Zekaj said as Hunter turned around and faced him.
Zekaj had grown out his beard and it now was a couple inches longer than usual. Though they still made sure it was nicely trimmed and unkempt. Hunter loved it personally.
He kept cozy in his black sweatshirt with the hood up. It went nicely with his paler skin and black hair and beard.
"I'm alright," Hunter said, unsure if he was actually alright. But with Zekaj here, he knew it was the truth. They were alright. Everything was alright.
"Good," Zekaj smiled. "Don't want you to be a downer when we go on vaca."
"I won't be, I swear!" Hunter chuckled. He was quite ready to just get to relax with Zekaj on the beach and in a warm jacuzzi. Just the two of them, alone.
Zekaj kissed Hunter deeply before pulling away and holding his hand.
"Imma head back outside with the others," Zekaj squeezed Hunter's hand gently. "Come out when you're ready, alright? We can head home after and take a warm bath."
"Sounds good," Hunter smiled, looking down at their feet.
Zekaj pulled them into a hug and kissed Hunter's cheek before leaving the room. But first stopping at the door frame and turning back.
"We made a lot of memories in this room, but it's time to make some new ones. Don't ya think?"
Hunter only nodded and turned back to look out the window. The demon's retreating footsteps got quieter and quieter as he left the house.
Through the window, Hunter watched Zekai ready a snowball and was about to throw it when he suddenly froze in place.
The demon in human form suddenly turned looking west, staring off into the distance. His snowball fell to the ground as he remained motionless.
Volveth hadn't noticed as he was dodging snowballs that weren't being thrown at him. He was too focused on trying to make snowballs and had his eyes on the snow.
Suddenly, without warning, he shook it off and began throwing snowballs at Volveth again.
Hunter shook it off, though the worrying feeling in the back of his head never went away.
Zekai had been better for a while, he just hoped his mood wasn't destroyed again. The demon seemed to have bounced right back unlike last time.
The time for stalling had passed and Hunter slowly flipped the light switch and the lights to his room turned off. Only the glow of the sun hitting the white snow shined in what once was his room.
Gently, Hunter turned the doorknob and slowly closed the door. One last glance, he peered into the empty room. Leaving behind what was once his home, but keeping the memories he cherished forever.
The gentle click of the lock was all he heard as he stepped away.
Their future looked bright and as Hunter stepped outside, leaving this house for the last time, he felt even more ready for the future.
His father and Zekaj had been sitting on the steps to the home together, neither talking to the other really but showing that they were on better terms. Both had slowly warmed up to each other, especially Zekaj who straight up despised his father.
Hunter's demon turned back around at him as he felt the mate bond tighten as the two got closer. Zekaj's pale gold eyes glowing in the sunlight causing them to be even more alluring and beautiful than usual.
"Hey," Zekaj smiled, tapping his finger on the cold concrete as if he was telling him to come sit with him.
"Hey," Hunter blushed as he walked over to the demon and sat on his lap, the warmth of their bond consuming his body.
"Think it's time for Volveth and I to head out then," Jaxon stood up.
Volveth immediately stopped what he was doing when he saw Jaxon stand up. He didn't even react when Zekai launched a snowball at him and it hit him in the side.
"It is?" Volveth's eyes went wide. "This is gonna be so much fun!"
The Minotaur, who was currently in his human form like everyone else, was only going to provide entertainment on the drive down. Volveth wasn't moving in with Jaxon, yet.
Though he did have a magic armband that allowed travel between realms. One of Merlin's oldest inventions had come in handy over the months due to how often Volveth wanted to hang out with Jaxon.
"I'm so excited to see those waterfalls! I mean they can't be better than lavafalls but still. It'll be neat!"
"Dads taking him to see Niagara Falls," Hunter whispered to Zekaj who mumbled an "oh" in response.
"Is that the only place you're goin?" Zekai asked, putting his hands on his hips.
"It'll take us most of the day to get to Niagara, then we'll spend a day there and head the rest of the way to Wisconsin and spend the night at a hotel somewhere," Jaxon said. "And if Volveth sees something interesting I guess we can stop."
"Cool," Zekai said, kicking the snow.
Everyone else was doing cool things with the people they love except him. Sure Volveth and Jaxon weren't a thing but Zekai knew that Volveth was going to try and work his magic on this trip.
The Minotaur had been trying his hardest to get in that human pants for the past couple of months. It was obvious to literally everyone except Jaxon. Even Lancelot who hadn't even seen the two for more than 20 seconds instantly knew Volveth was in love.
Everyone had someone except him.
Zekai had tried to push his feelings down and just listened as Volveth talked about all of the things he wanted to see on Earth that he had remembered Jaxon talking about back when they were kids. Both of them were getting into Jaxon's truck with a rented cargo trailer on the back.
The demon wished for the same. To explore Earth and find what had been calling out to him this whole time. That constant feeling that something or someone was out there that needed him.
Zekai knew what he needed to do but wasn't sure if he was strong enough to do it. The demon sat there thinking to himself not noticing his brother's mate was on to him.
"Drive safe, alright? No matter how much he pleads, Do. Not. Let. Volveth. Drive," Hunter demanded.
They hadn't gotten around to teaching Volveth how to drive and properly getting him a license like they had with Zekaj and Zekai. Both had been taught by Jaxon and Hunter and were slowly building up hours in order to get them official ones.
Volveth was obviously jealous but for some reason never asked to be taught. Hunter assumed it was Volveth somehow playing hard to get in a really stupid way.
He didn't need a license because it wasn't like him and Jaxon were a couple or anything. Oh, he was just his cool demon friend that had no reason to need to learn how to drive a car for a human boyfriend or anything.
"I could figure it out. It doesn't seem that hard," Volveth scoffed.
"We'll be fine, enjoy vacation with Zekaj. You deserve it, Hunter," Jaxon smiled calmly.
Hunter nodded before pulling his father into a sudden hug.
"You get used to the different surroundings after a while. Moving on is hard but well worth it," Hunter whispered to his father.
Jaxon nodded in agreement before sitting in his car.
Watching as Hunter, Zekaj, and Zekai portaled back to Hell, Jaxon put the car in drive and pulled out of his old home.
The side-view mirror framed his old home as both him and Volveth drove away. While he was sad about leaving the past behind, he looked forward to the future. They all had a lot of healing to do, and in order to do that, they had to leave some things behind.
His hand rested on the gear shift, gripping it tight. His eyes kept looking forward and he hit the breaks as he came to a stop.
Slowly, he felt a large hand lay on his own, lifting his hand off the shift and intertwining their fingers. Volveth gave Jaxon's hand a gentle squeeze as if telling him it will all be okay.
Jaxon's heart thumped in his chest and he watched Volveth stare out the car window, not letting the human see his reaction.
All the human did was pull his hand away and grab Volveth's hand before the demon could retract it. A proper handhold and Jaxon squeezed it back.
*****
Hours later, Zekai quietly walked down the stairs, not wanting to wake anyone else in the castle. Demon's had great hearing and he knew that any creek could seem suspicious but he just hoped no one thought anything of it.
Moving through the shadows into the room, he made sure no one was inside before leaving his cover.
The lab had a couple of the bands sitting around somewhere he was sure of it. It might only be one or two, but he only needed one. The tables had nothing on them so he was going to have to check all of the shelves and cabinets in the already large room.
Earth was his destination. Somewhere on the surface, something or someone was calling out to him and he needed to find them.
Certainly asking Zekaj and Hunter to allow him to walk freely on Earth would meet him with disapproval so he was just going to pull a Zekaj.
Go behind everyone's backs and disappear for a bit until he found what he was looking for.
After opening half of the drawers in the room and searching most of the shelves, he finally noticed what looked like one sitting nonchalantly on the table. He had sworn he had looked on all of the tables.
It was a leather band with a rune magically etched into it and as he picked it up it glowed bright blue. It was snug on his wrist as they didn't seem to be designed for large demons like himself.
The table also had a phone which was odd, as well as a weird cord thing and a wallet. Did Hunter leave some stuff in here?
"Going somewhere?" A voice said at his side.
Zekai yelped back into the table as he saw Zekaj leaning up against the cabinets that Hunter was sitting on.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Zekai said, still jumpy.
"What are you doing Zekai?" Zekaj asked, not answering the question.
"Nothing! Nothing. Just ya know, looking around. Some cool stuff in this lab. Do you guys come here often?" Zekaj rambled.
Zekaj just looked at him sternly, and Hunter just smiled, swaying his feet gently on the cabinet. Finally, Zekai sighed and simply shrugged.
"Something on Earth is calling out to me. I keep feeling what I'm missing in my chest while on earth and there's these spikes and I just freeze. I need to find it!" Zekaj explained, pleading to the two. Zekaj titled his head, giving his brother an Are you shitting me? Look and Zekai frowned. "I'm not lying! Let me go to Earth, I know I can find it quickly and I'll report back right away!"
"Zekai, we believe you," Hunter laughed. "Why do you think we, well I, Zekaj isn't in love with the whole idea yet, left out all the stuff for you?"
"You did?" Zekai said, holding the wallet in hand.
Opening it up as the velcro made a stretch sound. Inside was an ID as well as some cards he didn't recognize. Of course, the ID had a picture of him in it, one that they had taken a month or so ago.
"We got a bag here full of human clothes for you to wear, there's some cash, food, and snacks as well. Please don't lose any of it."
Next to Hunter a large black bookbag appeared out of thin air. So that's why Zekai hadn't seen them or the stuff they had laying around.
"So you're going to let me go? For real?" Zekai beamed.
"Yes but you have to keep in contact," Zekaj demanded.
"Don't worry, I'm going to unlike you," Zekai snickered.
Zekaj rolled his eyes.
"We've talked to mom and dad so you're free to go whenever," Zekaj added. "I'd probably say goodbye and call them as soon as you're settled down. The phone has all of our numbers in it already, keep it charged."
Merlin and Hunter had gotten cell service to work in hell a while ago. Though the internet was still not up, the two had some ideas on how to get it up and running.
Zekai picked up the phone from the table and started at the gunmetal-colored device. Quickly the phone was snatched out of his hand by Zekaj and flipped and handed back to him.
The phone's screen lit up and Zekai tapped at it with his fingers, unsure how to use it.
Zekaj sighed and the three sat down and explained how to use it to the demon for a while.
*****
Zekai stepped out and the snow immediately crunched against his feet. He couldn't tell if this was Maine or not as currently, the state looked just like this.
Hunter had told him to feel within himself and to open a portal to where felt right. Zekai did as he was told and yet he didn't feel anything.
Two sets of feet crunched against the snow behind him and his brother and Hunter looked around as well.
It looked like a small town, currently the streets were barren with a few cars parked at various shops and bars down the main street.
"Where are we?" Zekai asked.
"Use your phone," Zekaj said, trying to get him into the habit.
Zekai went "oh!" and pulled out the device and found the correct app that would show its location on the map.
"Michi gan," Zekai said incorrectly. "Is that a state or a country?"
"State," Hunter answered, stopping himself from laughing.
"Oh," Zekai smiled down at his phone.
"It's also pronounced Michigan," Zekaj laughed. "You need to do some more studying on Earth."
"I will I-," Zekai stopped what he was saying when he felt the pull again. Only this time it was stronger.
Whatever was calling for him was closer than ever.
"Do you feel it again?" Hunter asked.
Zekai couldn't speak, he only nodded his head. Soon the feeling went away and he turned back around.
"Stay safe, alright? Call us when you find it immediately, all right?" Zekaj said, pulling his brother into a hug. "If you die I'm going to drag you out of Elysium and beat your fucking ass, got it?"
"Yes," Zekai laughed. "Thank you guys so much for this."
"Please just stay safe, don't give your things away to strangers please," Hunter said. "Keep your stuff safe, don't let people take advantage of you."
"I will, I will jeez," Zekai scoffed.
The brothers smiled at each other before hugging again, this time pulling Hunter into the mix.
"Find yourself a mate so you can stop being a fucking loser," Zekaj muttered.
"Alright alright," Zekai laughed, not taking it personally. "I love you, bro."
"Ok," Zekaj said, pulling the hug apart.
Hunter glared at him and Zekaj sighed.
"I love you too dude."
It didn't feel like a goodbye. All three of them knew they would see each other again, whether it was in a couple days, months or gods forbid years. They would always be family and would always look out for each other.
With that, the group split apart.
Hunter and Zekaj left for vacation and Zekai left to find what was missing.
Everything was ok.
For now.
A/N:
Only the Epilogue Remains...
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-MEK